Gorkon
---- Gorkon (tlhIngan Hol: ghorqon) was the Chancellor of the Klingon High Council in 2293. He owned a bone cane and a silvery necklace that he occasionally wore. In 2293, the destruction of the Klingon moon of Praxis forced the Klingon Empire to reassess its position towards the United Federation of Planets, as the Empire simply could no longer afford to maintain its massive military budget and deal with the devastating effects of the explosion on its economy. Gorkon approached the Federation via Captain Spock and opened negotiations that would see the military outposts on both sides of the Klingon Neutral Zone dismantled and a new alliance forged between the two cold war enemies. Gorkon's peace initiatives were met with open arms by the Federation Council, but there were those on both sides who objected. A plot was forged between individuals associated with the Federation, the Romulan Empire, and even General Chang, Gorkon's chief of staff. Gorkon traveled to rendezvous with the aboard his flagship, the , and attended a formal dinner aboard the Enterprise with Captain Kirk and his crew. While there, Gorkon expressed his hope for the future (which he termed "the undiscovered country"), and for peace between the Empire and the Federation. Later that evening, Kronos One was disabled by two photon torpedoes fired by an experimental Bird-of-Prey which had the unique ability to fire while under cloak, commanded by General Chang. As Kronos One drifted out-of-control, two assassins from the Enterprise beamed aboard, and systematically began killing Klingons. Making their way to the Chancellor, they shot him through the chest with a phaser, mortally wounding him. After Kronos One had restored power, Captain Kirk and Doctor Leonard McCoy beamed aboard to provide medical assistance. Attempting to resuscitate Gorkon, McCoy was able to briefly bring him back to consciousness. With his dying breath, Gorkon motioned for Kirk to approach him, pleading, "Don't let it end this way, captain." In the wake of his death, Gorkon's daughter, Azetbur, was elevated to the position of Chancellor (inheriting Gorkon's necklace), and continued to champion the ideals of peace, even in the face of resistance from her own cabinet. Eventually, the crew of the Enterprise was able to uncover the conspiracy, and the peace talks moved forward. ( ) Appendices Background information with Nicholas Meyer]] Gorkon's name was devised by Denny Martin Flinn. (audio commentary, ''Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' (Special Edition) DVD) It was crafted as a blending of the surnames of Mikhail Gorbachev and Abraham Lincoln. (http://www.startrek.com/article/david-warner-recounts-his-trek-adventures; audio commentary, ''Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' (2009 DVD)) Flinn and director Nicholas Meyer initially worried that the thinly veiled allusion to Gorbachev was too "on the nose," but they ultimately found that these concerns were uncorroborated by audience reaction. (audio commentary, ''Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' (Special Edition) DVD) Gorkon's personality was also based on Gorbachev. "For sure, Gorbachev was the model," Meyer emphasized. ("The Perils of Peacemaking", [[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (Blu-ray)|Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Blu-ray]]/2009 DVD) According to Make-Up Department Head Ken Myers, the director additionally wanted Gorkon's actual motives to appear somewhat vague. "He wanted there to be uncertainty about Gorkon's true intentions. Did he want peace, or was something sinister in his mind?" (Cinefex No. 49, p. 50) In the screenplay for Star Trek VI, Gorkon is described as "tall, splendidly barbaric." The script also shows that his dying words were originally to have been asking Kirk, "Are you all right?" http://www.st-minutiae.com/academy/literature329/tuc.txt Gorkon was played by David Warner, who (being an acquaintance of Nicholas Meyer) was cast in the part without auditioning for it. http://www.startrek.com/article/david-warner-recounts-his-trek-adventures Jack Palance was Nick Meyer's original choice for the role. (Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 141) However, Palance proved to be extremely costly to hire as well as slightly hesitant to accept the part. (Star Trek Movie Memories, p. 297) Stated co-producer Steven-Charles Jaffe, "There were some people we wanted that we couldn't afford. In the long run, it may have actually worked out for the best, because I think David Warner is extraordinary in the movie, which would have been totally different from Jack Palance." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 22, No. 5, p. 48; Captains' Logs: The Unauthorized Complete Trek Voyages, p. 141) Fellow co-producer Ralph Winter likewise commented, "David Warner does a great job for us ... and he fit the role." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 22, No. 5, p. 38) It was Nick Meyer's intention that Gorkon physically resemble Abraham Lincoln. "When I started to work with David Warner on his characterization as Gorkon," remembered Meyer, "that's when I got this Lincolnesque idea of making him look like Lincoln in some way." ("The Perils of Peacemaking", Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Blu-ray/ DVD) This concept was addressed by the character's makeup design. (The Art of Star Trek, p. 264) Richard Snell – who designed and fabricated the film's Klingon, Vulcan and Romulan prosthetics – offered, "Nick told me, 'When people look at Gorkon, I want their brain cells to go, 'Abe Lincoln!' The resemblance is almost subliminal." (Cinefantastique, Vol. 22, No. 5, p. 34) Another, less powerful influence on how Nick Meyer wanted the character to look was Captain Ahab. (audio commentary, ''Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country'' (Special Edition) DVD; Cinefex No. 49, p. 50) "Incorporating those two images was really genius on Meyers' part," enthused Ken Myers. The makeup design reflected Meyer's desire that Gorkon's allegiances be not immediately apparent. "From his appearance, it was impossible to tell whether he was friend or foe," observed Myers. "Subliminally, there were aspects of both." Due to the lengthy duration it took to apply the makeup for Azetbur, Myers was forced to hand over his other assignment, the prosthetics for Gorkon, to Margaret Bessera. (Cinefex No. 49, p. 50) David Warner found that playing Gorkon was fairly easy and that the combination of influences between Abraham Lincoln and Gorbachev was "the fun thing" about the role. (Star Trek: Communicator issue 118, p. 66) Though Warner had known next to nothing about the Klingons before portraying Gorkon, another factor that attracted him to the role was the chancellor's rare Klingon benevolence. "He wasn't the evil master Klingon; he was actually trying to make peace .... So he was a good Klingon, I suppose," Warner mused. "And, of course, he suffered because of that." http://www.startrek.com/article/david-warner-recounts-his-trek-adventures Despite normally having to arrive as early as 3 a.m. to have his makeup applied (prior to a regular shooting start of 10 a.m.), Warner did not feel that the makeup had any influence on the way he played the character. He also didn't believe that the mixture of historical figures embodied in the role effected his performance. "That didn't alter the dialogue or anything," he said. (Star Trek Magazine issue 153, p. 47) Gorkon's ability to be forward-thinking was elemental in the portrayal of the character. "With David Warner as Gorkon," Nick Meyer recalled, "I said, 'Picture yourself as the only man with imagination in this room. The other people are flat, boring. They don't know what's going on. They can't, you know, think around corners. " ("The Perils of Peacemaking", Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Blu-ray/2009 DVD) David Warner recognized that the role was not a particularly large one, stating, "I just sat there for one scene and then got killed! .... In a way he's a kind of device. Which is fine – I don't have a problem with that. It's exposition, setting it all up." (Star Trek Magazine issue 153, p. 47) On the other hand, Nick Meyer theorized, "If the movie had been a biography of Gorkon, you might have witnessed the evolution of his thinking, the emancipation of his mind." ("The Perils of Peacemaking", Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Blu-ray/2009 DVD) One aspect of Gorkon's backstory was intended to be implied by a certain prop; his bone cane was meant to be from a form of vicious animal he had killed. (The Making of the Trek Films, 3rd ed., p. 128) The assassination of Gorkon was conceived by Nick Meyer. ("The Perils of Peacemaking", Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country Blu-ray/2009 DVD) The was named for the character, at the request of Rick Berman. (Star Trek: The Next Generation Companion 2nd & 3rd ed., p. 253) Apocrypha In the Star Trek: Vanguard novels (set at the beginning of Kirk's five-year mission), Gorkon is a member of the Klingon High Council. He is described as an ex-battle fleet general and an expert with a Klingon war club. It is unclear whether he suffers from the augment virus like most Klingons seen during the TOS series era. In the DS9 novel Warpath, it is revealed that the mirror universe version of Gorkon was the Regent of the Klingon-Cardassian Alliance when it conquered the Terran Empire. ]] In the PC video game ''Star Trek: Klingon Academy, Gorkon and Chang's relationship before the events of Star Trek VI are shown. In it, Gorkon is the chief of staff for Chancellor Lorak, and Chang is shown as trying to prevent his friend Gorkon's rise to the chancellorship because of the danger Gorkon would make peace with the Federation. The [[Star Trek VI: The Undiscovered Country (novel)|Star Trek VI novelization]] establishes that Gorkon expected something to happen to him during the peace mission to the Federation and so therefore used his influence with his supporters on the High Council to make sure that they would install Azetbur as his successor. It is hinted that he suspected such an attempt in the movie; when Kronos One was being "attacked" by the Enterprise, he ordered someone to find Chang, hinting that he suspected Chang of being part of this betrayal. External links * * * de:Gorkon fr:Gorkon nl:Gorkon Category:Klingons Category:Government officials